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Wednesday, 13 August 2014

"Your Heritage Needs You" - BUT

Minister Durkan, speaking at a special NIEA-organised First World War commemoration event at Grey Point Fort, Helen’s Bay, said: “Today, 100 years on from the outbreak of the First World War, many of us will have a renewed interest and appreciation of those events. With this interest and appreciation, I hope there will also be greater understanding of the events at that time, many of which have shaped the lives of our families over the past hundred years. It is therefore fitting that I am today launching Phase 2 of the Defence Heritage Project at a state care monument with direct connections to that time. Central to the project is the participation of the wider public, working with my Department, to find, record and share the defence heritage structures across our landscape.

“These sites have direct, and often poignant, connections to past generations, whose lives were shaped and affected by conflicts that engulfed Europe. Through public participation I hope there will be greater awareness of the rich legacy of heritage features that still survive, helping us understand the times past and protect them for future generations.” ..NIEA is now seeking more volunteers to help record and further update the Defence Heritage Record. In particular, those features from the early twentieth century that have yet to be surveyed. .. DOE Press Release, Monday, August 4, 2014Curiously enough, the press release makes no mention of the long-term and short-term agency staff that are about to be 'fired' - including some of the staff at Grey Point Fort and Dunluce Castle. The department, ironically, is helping to enlarge the pool of potential volunteers.